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American Morning

Baltimore Tries to Get Back on Track After Train Derailment

Aired July 19, 2001 - 11:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to go ahead and get started in Baltimore. I-95 is moving once again. Harbor shops are open today. And the Orioles may indeed get a chance to play a game at Camden Yards tonight.

Like the O's, Baltimore is struggling to get back on track today. A freight train carrying toxic chemicals caught fire in a tunnel. And that accident sent choking black smoke over the city.

Our Elaine Quijano joins us now. She is in downtown Baltimore.

Elaine, before we lost you last hour, Leon was wondering what the smell is like in Baltimore and if all that smoke and the fire has left a nasty smell behind.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're actually OK where we are standing. But I imagine that folks who are downwind have really had a difficult time.

Some of the folks that I talked to out on the street here did complain of a little bit of coughing, scratchiness in their throat, of their eyes possibly being a little itchy and watering, maybe. But where we are, from our vantage point, it hasn't been that bad. You can see I'm not wearing any kind of protective gear.

But I imagine for some of the folks who got up close to this -- especially yesterday -- it was very intense -- Daryn.

KAGAN: What exactly is burning? And what is exactly causing the smoke right now, Elaine?

QUIJANO: Well, that is the question that firefighters are now trying to answer, Daryn. Part of the problem is the location of this fire. This tunnel itself is about a mile long. The train is about three quarters of a mile long.

And on that train are several tanker cars which transport hazardous material. So firefighters have had to work very carefully, be very delicate in their operation to try and remove some of those cars and get them out of the way, so they can indeed find out what the source is. In fact, I talked to the mayor a short time ago. He told me that is their biggest concern right now, is just getting to the very source of this fire to determine what is burning. KAGAN: And as we mentioned off the top, meanwhile, this has caused a huge mess in Baltimore: baseball games canceled -- I know it's a popular tourist area there by Camden Yards -- and traffic being a huge mess as well.

QUIJANO: Traffic was a huge mess. Yesterday, what they had to do was reroute traffic around the city. You couldn't even get into the city, It was gridlock here downtown. Camden Yards, some folks were sitting waiting for an evening Orioles game. They had to be evacuated.

Residents in the immediate area were told to stay indoors and to not turn on their ventilation systems. They were very concerned about what this smoke could possibly be. The good news, according to the mayor, so far, their tests have shown no toxic chemicals in the air right now -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Elaine Quijano in Baltimore -- Elaine, thank you for the latest.

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